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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 1668854" data-attributes="member: 2323">[PLAIN][Realms #276] The Second Test, part VII[/PLAIN]The curuscating ray sliced through the air and struck Morier in the side; the eldritch warrior felt its cold touch even through his armor. His father had drilled into him the value of Spellcraft to determine a spell being cast, and to recognize one from its effects, and Morier had spent more days and nights than he cared to remember poring through old books that stank with age. It was an easy matter for him to determine that he'd been the victim of a Ray of Enfeeblement, but that did nothing to ease the drain on his vitality that he suffered.He cursed himself for being greedy. If he hadn't moved forward to encompass all four of the goblins in his Burning Hands spell, he wouldn't have put himself in a position to be targetted by the ray. But he had moved forward and there was no going back without risking another attack from the arrow slit. So he pointed the Wand at the quartet of goblins as they drew obsidian hand axes. The magical flames turned them into smoking husks in seconds.Ledare moved forward to join Morier, but the eldritch warrior shouted a warning, "There's a narrow fissure here with a spellcaster on the other side!" The Janissary drew up short and shot the albino a stricken look. "Wait there," he advised and dashed around the corner.Karak and Feln had handily dealt with the lone goblin and they moved up to join Ledare. Ixin (who was leading the very-blind-in-the-dark Vade by the hand) followed at their heals and they all heard the grunt of exertion followed by the sound of steel stiking flesh, followed by a wet thud. A moment later, Morier appeared around the corner and beckoned them forward."All clear," he said and the others could see a few drops of blood spattered across his chalky features.That lone spellcaster, Herruk, had been the last line of defense for the paltry goblin tribe. All that remained beyond the passage he was guarding was a communal living area in which huddled a terrified group of non-combatant women and chldren. They wailed and prostrated themselves before the group, pleading in gobbledy to be spared, and it was no difficult task to convince one amongst them (a hoary old gobliness named Gorguul) to speak to the VQS on the promise of leniancy. Ixin put her super-human charisma to work and, aided by Ledare's considerable skills at diplomacy, was able to piece together the Habozargar tribe's recent history - or at least in so much as the less-than-intelligent Gorguul knew it.The goblins had lived simple - if not always peaceful - lives, content to farm and hunt in the forest for many generations. Their greatest threat in those days had been the occassional encounter with the spiderfolk who lived in the forest and preyed upon the goblins for food.Then Sheesek came. At first, the tribe welcomed her because she brought considerable magical power with her - she could make their crops grow large, make the game more plentiful, and protect them from the spiderfolk. Herruk, the chief (and a mighty spellcaster in his own right) named her as the tribe's medicine woman and often took her counsel on matters of spiritual import. But her benevolence didn't last, and it was only after she had swayed many of the clan's best warriors to her way of thinking that Herruk realized that he had let a viper into their den.But by then it was too late. Sheesek provided her warriors with weapons and armor of steel bought from men, she withered the crops, and summoned "The Great Bear" to slay all who opposed her. Herruk was deposed and retreated from his private chamber to live with the others in the main cave."So you're saying that this Sheesek is a great evil?" Feln prompted, hopeful that they had completed their task."Gorguul show you," she said and led them to the front entrance of the cave. She pointed to the barren soil on the opposite side of the trench. "Once that our food," she explained. "Beans, squash, potatoes. Then Sheesek come and steal life from the ground. Crops turn to dust. Nothing grow here now."Morier looked at the blighted earth and his crimson eyes narrowed. Malcolm would have been mad with fury over such a desecration."I think we've taken care of the tree's second test. Don't you?" Feln asked the others and there were nods all around. "Let's check for anything worth salvaging from these bodies and get back to the ruins.""Oh boy," Vade said clapping his hands together. "Treasure!""What do we do about the women and children?" Ixin asked once the Rogue had gone to work. All eyes turned to Ledare."Their threat is broken," the Janissary told them. "They'll be lucky to survive as they are now. I think we should just let them go.""Do you have a problem with that, dwarf?" Feln asked and Karak harrumphed."There be nae honor in killin' women an' children," he said and turned away from Gorguul. "E'en if'n they be filthy gobbos."A thorough search of the many goblin corpses yielded a not-inconsiderable amount of booty. Most of it was in the form of potions, scrolls, and some loose coins. The she-goblin, Sheesek (who they surmised was some kind of dark druid), bore a wooden shield and a sickle - both of which Ixin determined were magical in some way, as well as a slender wand that Vade tucked away for later examination. Herruk's body held little of value, but Vade's clever fingers discovered a small clay flask of liquid, which wasn't magical, but probably held some value. It disappeared into the halfling's pack.Sheesek's lair, a concealed cavern letting onto the entry chamber, spoke of a swift decent into evil madness. The place stank of stale sweat and urine and the musky closeness of large animals. The floor was strewn with filthy straw and gnawed bones. The walls, floor and ceiling were a riot of disturbing symbols and designs painted with blood, feces and other substances that none of the group cared to identify. No one was very surprised to find the rat-and-snake symbol of Aphyx figuring prominently in the insane scrawlings. "These 'ere be symbols o' Chaos," Karak announced in a somber voice as he pointed out a many-pointed arrow on one wall and a disturbing green spiral on another. "I saw 'em before, in me youth when we took back Helzak delve from the skaven. Nasty folks, them Chaos cultists.""Ya think?" Vade asked sarcastically as his eyes roamed over the unsettling images adorning every square inch of the cave."Aye, wee one," Karak said gravely. "I do." He drew the little vial of Malak's holy water from his pouch and yanked the cork free with his teeth before splashing the contents across the largest symbols. There was no spectacular sizzle or the hiss of steam, but the symbols began to dissolve and run into one another. They watched the designs slowly deface for a moment and then Karak thrust the flask away and turned his back on the cave."Let's be gettin' back to talk to that tree," he said gruffly.</blockquote>

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